Planted forests with local roots: the role of endemic biodiversity duplicate

Astute, perceptive and cunning. Here, we present plants from a different perspective — one you may not have considered before: as organisms capable of using tricks and strategies to manipulate animals in order to achieve their own goals.

To reproduce, plants depend on animals both for pollination and for seed dispersal. In nature, there is no formal request for help; instead, there is a subtle, coded form of communication designed to make animals act in the plant’s favour.

For example, when a plant is attacked, it may release substances that attract the natural enemies of the herbivore in question. Or it may prefer to camouflage itself, mimicking a stone or another object, making it less appealing to herbivores. Whether through visual signals or chemical messages, plants have developed a wide range of mechanisms over thousands — or even millions — of years. This evolutionary refinement has been essential for their survival and reproduction.

To imitate (or repel) an animal, a plant may release a specific scent, adopt particular colours or shapes, or even mimic flavours. Each species depends on certain animals and adapts to their behaviours and preferences.

Let’s explore some plants that take mimicry to surprising levels.

Vincetoxicum nakaianum smells like… ants in distress?

The floral mimicry of this Japanese species is a remarkable example of adaptation.

In 2025, a study published in Current Biology revealed the first known evidence of this phenomenon: Vincetoxicum nakaianum (a member of the Apocynaceae family) produces a floral scent that mimics the odour released by Formica ants when attacked by spiders. This “alarm scent” attracts grass flies, luring them in with the promise of food and tricking them into pollinating the plant.

This remains the first and only documented case of this type of mimicry.
Researcher Ko Mochizuki, from the University of Tokyo, and his team discovered that ants attacked by spiders attract kleptoparasitic flies — insects that steal food or resources from other animals. The team now aims to investigate other species and uncover further forms of floral mimicry that may have gone unnoticed until now.

To see the species in its natural habitat, one must travel to Japan, specifically to the mountains of Honshu or the Nikko Botanical Garden.

Rafflesia arnoldii and its irresistible smell of rotting flesh

From the jungles of Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and Indonesia comes a truly unique plant. Much can be said about Rafflesia arnoldii: it produces the largest flower in the world — up to 110 cm in diameter and weighing as much as 11 kg — and it has no leaves, stems or roots. As a parasitic plant, it feeds on the roots of nearby host plants and does not perform photosynthesis.

But it is best known as the “corpse flower”, due to the intense smell of decaying flesh released during the few hours or days in which the flower remains open. This putrid scent attracts flies, which act as pollinators — the plant’s main objective.

Its five reddish‑brown petals with white speckles have another fascinating trait: they produce heat, which helps spread the smell more effectively. Its pollen is equally unusual: a thick, sticky substance that adheres to the backs of flies, allowing it to travel further distances.

In Portugal, the species cannot be observed alive — but you can see a replica at the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra.

Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera): not everything is what it seems

Is it a bee? A wasp? No, it’s the bee orchid, a species that excels at disguise. From its colours to its hairs and even its scent, this plant has evolved a near-perfect mechanism to attract male pollinnators from the Apidae family, convincing them that the flower is a female insect and prompting a behaviour known as pseudocopulation.

This deception is made possible by anthophilous floral structures that trigger the pollination process. The deceived pollinators, believing they are mating with a female, leave the flower carrying pollinia — compact masses of pollen — attached to their bodies, transferring them to the next plant they visit.

In mainland Portugal, the species can be found in the Northeast, Western Coast, and South.